Max Hart is a 12-year old legend-in-the-making from Sydney’s Gold Coast. With a well rounded set of skills and knowledge in the ocean that includes fishing, surfing, and spearfishing Max is constantly busy enjoying life in the water with friends and family. Competing in state championship paddle races and surf competitions, Max is no stranger to pressure. Playing a leading role in the School of Rock Musical in both South Korea and Australia, totaling over 130 performances, Max rips on the guitar and continues to add this gift to his already impressive set of skills in the water. Max shares the ins and outs of his favorite surf breaks, like Byron Bay and Snapper Rock, talks about his favorite dive spots, and masterfully handles the dreaded lightening round of questions.

Greg Norman Jr -- kiting, surfing, spearfishing, world travel

** Interview Episode 113 **

With a family name synonymous with the sport of golf, Greg Norman Jr has carved out an incredibly deep and well—rounded life in the ocean. From growing up in the waters of Florida to years on Maui Greg has developed love and skill for riding all types of boards on the water — from surfing, kiting, foiling, to wake boarding. Adding on to this a strong passion for the hunt, Greg pushes himself underwater with spearfishing both reefs and blue water, enjoying getting lost in the flow that being in the ocean provides to us all. Throughout, Greg has placed high emphasis on close connection to family and providing greater access to board sports for all with his Shark Cable Park. We started our conversation around the role that the ocean played in his recent engagement to his wife-to-be (it’s a rad story).

It’s no secret that I love fish art and KC Scott, a name you’ll hear a few times on today’s episode, is one of my favorite marine artists out there. Whether it’s blue marlin pushing bait or a hog fish hovering above the reef, KC captures scenes of the wild that many of us lay awake at night dreaming about. Have a look at kcscottartist.com and if you find apparel or artwork that you like, enter coupon code OCEAN20 (all caps) at checkout and you’ll get 20% off your order. When you do you’ll be supporting this family owned and operated business that’s dedicated to helping us all grow our connection to the ocean.

Other pieces to our conversation:

Growing up with his father introducing Greg to the ocean — surfing, diving

Living on Maui and pursuing love for kiting — competing professionally in the early 2000’s

Story of his first date spearfishing with his wife to be

Discuss the ins and outs of foiling and how it changes our perspective on waves

Kiting and wake boarding trip in Prince William Sound Alaska with hair raising exit by boat

Wearing dry suits to wakeboard and forgetting to zipper

Spearfishing in the Bahamas and team sport of hunting and landing cobia

Wonder and beauty of interacting with sharks underwater

Sense of flow in golf and sports in the ocean and challenge of changing your mindset to slow down and focus on the present

Growing up in my hometown of Santa Cruz, CA, The Cooper Sisters, 9 year old Isla and 12 year old Malia, left it all behind with their parents for life at sea. Since January 2019, the entire family has been living in the South Pacific aboard sailing vessel Renegade where the girls have transformed personally, spiritually, and athletically.

With daily life of surfing, diving, fishing, and sailing both Malia and Isla have chosen unique paths in the ocean, developing strength and confidence extremely unique for their age — from surfing hollow waves to diving with sharks. With frequent visits to the outer Fijian Islands, the girls have developed strong understanding and respect for the customs of tribal culture and have made friends with villagers, attended local school, and developed their own strong sense of self-confidence.

K.C. Scott -- fishing, diving, spearfishing, art

** Interview episode 110 **

K.C. Scott has based his life off of two core natural abilities revolving around the ocean. The first, his ability to interact first-hand with fish through angling, freediving, photography, and spearfishing, to return with vivid imagery of their natural beauty and power. The second, K.C.’s ability to transfer those real-life moments into creative pieces of art that, whether on a canvas or a t-shirt, continually keep us connected back to the ocean. With a lifestyle of creating amazing art and pursuing fish in his local Florida waters and more remote locations like Costa Rica, K.C. stays humble and appreciative of his talents, nature, and those around him. To round it all out, K.C. keeps focus on surfing and enjoying life with family and guiding his young daughter toward her own ocean life. Great stories, energy, and inspiration from K.C. Scott. Enjoy.

I love art of the ocean and seeing highly descriptive paintings on canvas and images on clothing of the magnificent fish are key ways that keep me amped for my next adventure in, on, or under the water. If ocean art also resonates with you, check out K.C. Scott’s art at kcscottartist.com where you can find art and apparell that will look good on your wall or the back of your shirt. If you find something you like, use coupon code OCEAN20 at checkout and you’ll get 20% off your order. When you do you’ll be supporting a family owned and operated business that’s dedicated to helping us all grow our connection to the ocean.

Scott Kennedy -- jack of many trades in the ocean

** Episode 102 ** Every now and then you meet someone who blows you away with their strength across multiple disciplines in the water. Scott Kennedy is one of those people. As a fisherman, surfer, diver, spear fisherman, boater, and more Scott takes us through his life growing up in Southern California, migrating to Northern California, learning his skills in the ocean the hard way – on his own, and finding great adventure and memories throughout. From hand-shaping surfboards to a love of body surfing, working in aquaculture and sustainable seafood consulting, Scott gives us a unique and humble perspective on the ocean we all love.

If you like what you hear today, take 5 minutes and visit FishWise.org or SeafoodWatch.org and read a few things about your favorite, tasty fish and educate on best purchasing practices for you and your family. Let’s use our wallets to let seafood companies know how important sustainable fish populations are to us all. Thanks for caring about the ocean and thanks for being here today sharing in the ocean life of Scott Kennedy.

John Kowitz left the cold, fresh waters of Michigan to find his calling in warm, tropical waters around the world. As an underwater photographer John has captured stunning shots of people, animals, and scenes in places like Hawaii, Bahamas, Costa Rica, and more. While developing his strength as a free diver, John has developed a deep respect for ocean conservation and along with stories of swimming with hammerheads, mantas, and pilot whales, shares his perspective on protecting our oceans and the animals we all love. If you can, take a look at John’s photography on Instagram @j.kowitz while you listen to his stories — his work is epic.

If you hate using the plastic bags at grocery stores for your produce, hit Google for ‘washable produce bags’ and pick up a set of the reusables. It makes a ton of sense.

Born in Poland and raised in the cold ocean waters of Maine, Greg Lewandowski began scuba diving at age 9, running boats, and developing a strong love for being in the ocean at a young age. Today he takes us through his stories of living and working across the Caribbean, running scuba diving charters, fishing, and freediving on the Hawaiian Island of Kauai, his artistic approach to photography, and memorable moments with whales, sharks, manta rays, monk seals, and much more. You can find Greg on Instagram by his handle @seafeverh2o. And we can all cut way down on our plastic usage to help protect the environment and some of our favorite ocean animals we hear about today.

More highlights of our conversation:

First experienced tropical water at age 15 in Honduras setting him on a path of travel throughout the Caribbean serving as scuba divemaster and instructor before landing on the south shore of Kauai where Greg lives today.

Shares perspective on the spirit of Kauai and the ability for the island to either accept or reject people who move there.

Greg talks about running scuba tours for Fathom Five Divers, the amazing diving in the water around Niihau and the animals found there.

Most memorable experience underwater floating eye-to-eye with a juvenile hump back whale in the Turks and Caicos Islands

Spending time in the water with Hawaiian Monk Seal, local sharks, mantas, spinner dolphins

Operating tour boats in the unpredictable waters of Kauai

Fishing for the pelagic game fish in the Hawaiian waters — tunas, ono

Artistry that goes into making lures from scratch

Photography, favorite photo of a model on the beach just before a wave breaks around her

Evolution of freediving as another way to interact in the ocean

The abstract nature of bodybuilding relative to diving and being in the ocean (hint, wetsuits don’t fit so well but you need less weight to dive 🙂

Thanks for sharing Greg’s ocean life with us. Be sure to check him out on Instagram .

Cooper Family -- Sailing the South Pacific (Pt 2)

In episode 93 we check in with Brian and Robyn Cooper, a family from Santa Cruz, CA who, with their 2 daughters, left it all behind 9 months prior to live a dream of sailing in the South Pacific. Brian and Robyn describe their first few months of learning their sailboat Renegade, the ins and outs of sailing among the islands and reefs of Fiji, and developing confidence in their sailing capabilities. The Coopers share perspective on traveling in the outer Fijian Islands, surfing incredible waves, diving, fishing, boat-schooling the kids, and spending time in many local villages where they’ve learned and embraced the Fijian culture. We hear of how the family is adapting to life afloat and how their daughters, ages 9 and 12, are growing and changing as result of spending tons of time in the ocean and interacting with the Fijian culture. Brian and Robyn talk about the next major part of their trip which takes them over a 10-day passage to New Zealand then over to Indonesia and other epic parts of the South Pacific.

Tyler Conroy -- foiling, surfing, Mavericks, water rescue

In episode 90 I speak with a friend and local hero of mine, Tyler Conroy, who has built a well rounded ocean life for himself in Santa Cruz, CA. Tyler shares his stories of learning to surf as a young teen and moving quickly into some of the heavier Northern California water, his time in Jr Lifeguards, and transition into surfing big waves. We hear of Tyler’s first session at Mavericks, some of the local legends who coached him into his first waves, and surfing Mavs with his group of close friends and wife, Savannah. Tyler talks about the lineup at Mavericks, working jet ski rescue in big waves, his breath hold training, love for spearfishing, and progression on the foil (and challenges of the sport here in cold, kelpy, Santa Cruz).

Thanks for sharing Tyler’s ocean life with us. Be sure to check out photos and videos of Tyler on Instagram.

Luke Adolfson -- surfing, travel, Jaws, helping Maui youth

In episode 89 I speak with Luke Adolfson, a surfer and diver focusing his energy into pursuing happiness in the waters of Maui. Luke shares stories of surfing on Maui, surfing local WQS contests, and his time over the past years pushing himself at Peahi (Jaws). We hear of Luke’s world travel surfing Indo, South Africa, and more with time spent helping those less fortunate with missionary work to Uganda. Luke shares his perspective on the youth of Maui today and the energy he and others in the community are putting into helping the kids stay focused on their goals in life and finding happiness on that beautiful island. Luke and I replay a recent story of a close call with a boat when spearfishing together off of Napili and hear of Luke’s pursuit of breath holding and apnea training.

Thanks for sharing Luke’s ocean life with us. Be sure to check out photos and videos of Luke on Instagram.

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Fishing, diving, surfing, paddling, spearfishing, sailing, anything in the ocean. This Ocean Life is a weekly podcast series capturing the stories and life times of people around the world who have based their lives on the ocean. Hosted by Josh Pederson / @surfpaddletailgate.